Everything That Will Definitely Happen to You While Riding the CTA

There's no experience quite like riding on public transit in Chicago. The CTA is famous for its elevated train, annoying fare card system, and at the very least being cleaner than New York City's public transit. There are a lot of nuanced experiences that will need to be seen to be believed. If you're a daily commuter you've likely got a lot of these checked off your list.

On the bus

Tourists will be completely unaware they keep causing the back doors to open
... yet they can’t figure out how they open when they need to get off.

You will be rerouted around a street festival
... and then another, and another, and another.

Young Bulls fans will shout-sing '90s pop hits at the top of their lungs after a win
"Hey now, you’re an all-star. Get your game on. Get paid."

Chicago's Best Escape Rooms to Get Locked in Right Now

Remember those old, poorly translated browser games from, like, a decade ago? You know, the ones where you're trapped in a room with a screwdriver, a paperclip, and five marbles, and you have to escape in 30 minutes before a bomb goes off or something? You should really play some. They're classic, mind-bending, and occasionally frustrating, but always fun. Some entrepreneurial folks around Chicago saw fit to create real-life versions of these games so that intrepid puzzle-solvers could put their wits, teamwork, and patience to the test -- with friends! Here are a few of our favorites.

David VonDerLinn

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8 Cultural Activities To Class Up Your LA Weekend

Sure, it’s great to spend your weekends watching Marvel movies and DVRing Vanderpump Rules on the DL. But sometimes, you want to do something a little more refined. A little more elegant. Perhaps, you’d like to partake in an activity with a little... culture.

If the last “art” exhibit you liked was a beauty influencer's Instagram, it might be time to break out of your routine and tour some of the cultural highlights of Southern California. Luckily, Los Angeles is surrounded by lovely locales that offer the chance to experience fine art, dance, film, and history, all while taking a break from the city. So, plan a weekend day away and visit one of these cultural gems just outside of LA.

Poochie and the Crew of The Wiener's Circle |
Jim Vondruska/Thrillist

Lifestyle

What It's Like to Work at The Wiener's Circle, Chicago's Most Foul-Mouthed Restaurant

“Damn, you drop ash from your dick when you slide through your old ass boxers? You be up there smoking cigarettes in your bed, motherfucker?”

This is how Roberta “Poochie” Jackson, a longtime employee of the Chicago hot dog stand Wiener’s Circle, talks to a young man in a black Patagonia jacket and Sperry boots at 1am on a Saturday.

It’s not the typical greeting you’d find in a customer service manual, but this Lincoln Park joint isn’t your typical restaurant. People don’t just come for the food -- they come, and stay, for the entertainment: a staff of kitchen workers who hurl profane insults at every customer with the guts to eat there.

“You be up there smoking in bed, you motherfucker,” Poochie sasses, after the guy meekly responds with a “shut up!” “It don’t be cigarettes,” says another employee, line cook JB, standing in the swinging doorway to the kitchen. “It be fucking blunts.”

“Blunts, cigarettes, they all still got ashes. Ashes still stink, motherfucker,” Poochie yells. The customer just smiles and waits for his food among the throng of late-night customers.

“Next!” yells Poochie, or the “Queen of Wiener's Circle backtalk,” as one manager puts it. To get roasted by her and the other employees of this legendary spot, which stays open till 5am on weekends, is somewhat of an honor. If they deem you worthy of their time -- and sense that you can take a verbal beating -- you’ll get a tapestry of profanity and insults with your hot dog order. These are some of the best insult comics you’ll find in the Second City.